Walk down the Salita S. Anna di Palazzo in Naples and you’ll smell it before you see it. It is a scent of charred wood and fermenting dough that hasn’t really changed since the 18th century. Most people argue about food like it’s a religion, but when you talk about the no 1 pizza in the world, the conversation usually starts and ends at Pizzeria Brandi.
It’s iconic.
Honestly, the "best" anything is subjective, right? But Brandi has the receipts. Back in June 1889, the pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito was called upon to create something special for Queen Margherita of Savoy. He didn't just make dinner; he accidentally created a global blueprint. He used tomato, mozzarella, and basil to mimic the colors of the Italian flag. Fast forward over 130 years, and while every corner shop in New York or London claims they've got the secret sauce, the purists still flock to this specific spot in Italy to taste the source code of modern pizza.
What Actually Makes a Pizza the No 1 Pizza?
It isn't just about the toppings. If you think a mountain of pepperoni makes a pizza great, you're looking at it all wrong. True Neapolitan pizza—the kind that gets the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) seal of approval—is a matter of strict chemistry and tradition.
The dough must be made with highly refined wheat flour (type 0 or 00), natural yeast, salt, and water. That's it. No sugar. No oil. If you see someone adding honey to their crust to get it brown, they’ve already lost the plot. The "cornicione"—that puffy outer edge—needs to be airy and blistered with "leopard spots." These tiny charred bubbles happen because the pizza spends less than 90 seconds in a wood-fired oven cranking at over 485°C.
It's fast. It's violent. It's beautiful.
A lot of people get confused by the texture. They expect a crunchy, cracker-like base. Real Neapolitan pizza is soft and foldable. It’s "wet" in the middle. If you try to pick up a slice of the no 1 pizza with one hand and it stays horizontal, it’s probably not authentic Neapolitan style. It should flop. You're basically supposed to eat it with a knife and fork or fold it into a "portafoglio" (wallet) style.
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The Quality Gap: Why Most Pizza Fails
You’ve probably had "bad" good pizza. You know the type—it tastes fine because it’s covered in salt and fat, but an hour later, you feel like you swallowed a brick. That’s usually because the dough didn’t ferment long enough.
At top-tier places like Brandi or even modern legends like L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, the dough ferments for 24 to 48 hours. This process breaks down the complex starches into simple sugars. Basically, the yeast does the hard work of digestion so your stomach doesn't have to. When people talk about a "light" crust, that’s what they’re feeling.
Then there's the cheese.
Most "pizza" cheese is a low-moisture, factory-processed block. The no 1 pizza demands Mozzarella di Bufala Campana or Fior di Latte. The difference is massive. Buffalo mozzarella is creamier and slightly tangier, while Fior di Latte (made from cow's milk) is cleaner and more delicate. If the cheese doesn't release a little bit of milky whey when it hits the heat, it’s not the real deal.
The Tomato Myth
Everyone thinks "San Marzano" is just a marketing buzzword. It's not. These tomatoes grow in the volcanic soil of Mount Vesuvius. They have a thicker flesh, fewer seeds, and a lower acid content than the stuff you buy in a supermarket tin. Because they’re so sweet naturally, a master pizzaiolo doesn't need to add dried oregano or garlic powder to the sauce. They just crush the tomatoes and let the fire do the talking.
The Contenders: Who Else Claims the Throne?
While Naples is the birthplace, the "No 1" title is constantly under siege. You’ve got the New York slice, which evolved because Italian immigrants couldn't find the same wood for their ovens and switched to coal or gas.
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- John’s of Bleecker Street (NYC): They don’t sell slices. It’s whole pies only. The coal soot gives the crust a grittiness that you can’t replicate in a modern electric oven.
- Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix): Chris Bianco famously turned pizza into a fine-art form in Arizona of all places. He sources his own wood and works with local farmers for flour, proving that terroir matters as much for dough as it does for wine.
- Pepe in Grani (Caiazzo): Franco Pepe is often cited by critics as the greatest living pizzaiolo. He actually hand-kinks his dough in wooden boxes (madia) rather than using a mixer. It’s obsessive. It’s slow. It’s arguably the most technical no 1 pizza on the planet right now.
The debate usually boils down to what you value: history or innovation. Do you want the pizza that Queen Margherita ate, or do you want Franco Pepe’s "Margherita Sbagliata" (Mistaken Margherita), where the basil and tomato are reduced into cold emulsions and added after baking to preserve their raw flavor?
There's no wrong answer, but there is a hierarchy of quality.
How to Spot a Fake "Top Rated" Pizza
Google Maps is a minefield of 4.8-star ratings for mediocre food. If you’re looking for a truly elite experience, look for these red flags:
- Extensive Topping Lists: If a place offers 50 different toppings including pineapple, chicken, and ranch dressing, they aren't focusing on the dough. The dough is the soul. Toppings are just accessories.
- The "Crunch" Factor: If it's hard like a biscuit, it’s likely over-baked at too low a temperature.
- Uniformity: Every pizza should look slightly different. If they look like they were stamped out by a machine, they probably were.
- Cold Toppings: Fresh basil should be wilted by the heat, and olive oil should be shimmering. If they throw cold herbs on at the end just for a photo, they’re prioritizing Instagram over flavor.
Honestly, the best way to judge is the "Margherita Test." Order the simplest thing on the menu. If the bread, sauce, and cheese can't stand on their own without the help of pepperoni or truffle oil, it’s not the no 1 pizza.
The Science of the Slice
There is actually some serious physics involved here. The "leopard spotting" we mentioned earlier is a result of the Leidenfrost effect and rapid caramelization. Because the oven is so hot, the moisture in the dough turns to steam instantly, creating those bubbles. If the oven is too cold, the moisture evaporates slowly, leaving the crust tough and dry.
This is why your home oven will never produce a world-class Neapolitan pie. You can get close with a pizza stone or a specialized portable oven like an Ooni or Gozney, which can actually hit those 900-degree Fahrenheit marks, but it takes practice to master the "launch" and the "turn."
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Actionable Steps for the Ultimate Pizza Experience
If you want to move beyond the frozen aisle and actually experience what the no 1 pizza feels like, here is how you should approach it.
Search for AVPN Certification. If you aren't in Naples, look for restaurants that have the "Verace Pizza Napoletana" logo. It means the chefs have been trained in the specific Neapolitan tradition and use the correct ingredients and equipment.
Eat it immediately. Pizza has a half-life. The second it leaves that 485°C oven, the clock starts ticking. The crust begins to toughen as it cools. If you get a high-end pizza delivered, you’ve already ruined it. Eat it at the counter or at the table within three minutes of it being pulled from the fire.
Check the "Under-carriage". Lift a slice. It should have some char (small black spots), but it shouldn't be burnt black. This char provides a bitter contrast to the sweet tomato and creamy cheese. It’s the "umami" of the pizza world.
Make your own (The Right Way). Don't use "all-purpose" flour. Buy a bag of Antimo Caputo 00 flour. Use a scale to measure your water and flour by weight, not volume. Aim for 65% hydration (65g of water for every 100g of flour). Let it sit in your fridge for at least 24 hours. The difference in flavor will ruin delivery pizza for you forever.
Stop overcomplicating it. The most famous pizza in the world—the Marinara—doesn't even have cheese. It’s just tomato, garlic, oregano, and oil. When the ingredients are perfect, you don't need to hide them.
Finding the no 1 pizza isn't about following a viral trend or a celebrity endorsement. It’s about finding a place that respects the fermentation process, uses volcanic tomatoes, and treats a wood-fired oven like a musical instrument. Whether that's in a back alley in Naples or a dedicated shop in your own city, once you taste the difference between "bread with toppings" and "aerated fermented dough," there is no going back.